Six Hearts Under
by narcissisticSpaghetti
Summary: Just a simple KH/SFU crossover. AkuRoku for 8/13 Hope you all enjoy it
1. Six hearts under

On a normal day, Roxas could think up a hundred and one things he'd rather be doing than work. Even though he led a fairly boring life, next to his twin brother Ven, who's girlfriend did photography and who was always out doing something, had a thousand friends and was almost always not home, he could still say with assurance, that he hated his job.  
>Today, on the other, hand, he couldn't think of anything. Anything but the redheaded man across from him, that is.<br>Ventus nudged his leg gently.  
>He blinked in surprise, and noticed the conversation had turned to where he came in. To distract himself from the man across from the two, he looked down at the clipboard in his lap. He refused to look up again.<br>"I'm very sorry sir, but we need you to tel us as much as you can about what happened to your daughter." Ventus said smoothly, without missing a beat, despite having to remind his brother.  
>"Of course." The oldest male in the room sighed, and looked down sadly. "Her name was Kairi Sinclair. She was just about to turn seventeen, and she was so excited. I promised to get her a car, just next month. She must have been so excited she told her friend, Selphie; who loved any excuse at all to party. The two of them snuck out, telling us, their parents they were having a sleepover. They didn't come home for... four months." The redhead stopped, biting his lip in concentration. He looked almost ready to cry.<br>"It's alright, Mr. Sinclair. Go ahead." Ventus gently smiled, holding out a napkin for the man. He took it and crumpled it, looking now about ready to explode in anger.  
>"Thanks..." The older man calmed down. "My daughter was found about three days ago..." Again, he looked furious. "Locked in a closet... about two months pregnant... Both of them were almost a week dead." He choked back an angry sob.<br>Ventus let his stew a while before asking his next question. "And her friend, if I may ask?"  
>"She's still missing."<br>Roxas jotted down notes blindly, already used to this job, but he couldn't shake the image of the redhead from his head. The only problem seemed he couldn't get it right. Should he peek again?  
>No, then he would never finish this sheet... but did he really need to?<br>Roxas mentally slapped himself. No! No getting distracted. Flirt, AFTER work is done.  
>But he was so hot...<br>As Roxas internally fought with himself, Ventus tried his best to keep the redheads attention away from his smaller twin. Bless the boy, he felt truly sorry for him right now. He'd always been straight, and before now he'd never understood his brother's particularity for males. But now he could understand, if only vaguely. This man looked like a freaking GOD.  
>"And her mother?" Ventus pushed the man.<br>"Distraught, and angry as hell at me. It was my weekend with her she went missing, so she blames me for what happened."  
>"Weekend?"<br>"I only get-got... two weekends a month to spend with Kairi. I uh, my wife left me a few years ago." He chuckled. "Horrid break-up."  
>"Oh. So your EX-wife's name was?" Again, Ventus nudged his brother, giving an emphasis on the ex. He hoped Rox would pick up on this, as he seemed to like this man so much. Apparently he did. Clearly.<br>The smaller of the two sat up straight and listened harder. Ven chuckled slightly.  
>"Thank you very much, sir. I believe we have everything we need. Now, if you could give us some form of contact information, we should be done soon."<br>"Of course." The tall male smiled and recited his phone name, phone number and everything else Ven asked for, and then stood up to shake his hand.  
>"Thank you sir. Can I get you something quickly before you leave?"<br>Roxas almost cocked his head. This question seemed a little off to him. He never remembered Ven asking that when a client was about to leave. Only when they came in. So why was he breaking from his routine now?  
>And when Roxas realized that would take Ventus away from the room he almost panicked, looking up at his brother for a slip second. Only enough time to see a nod from the redhead and his brother turn to wink at him.<br>VENTUS! Roxas almost screamed in his head.  
>Said blonde only smirked a "Just trust me" smirk, and left the room.<br>Roxas hid his face, looking down again and pretending to go back over the clipboard. He got everything he needed, right?  
>"Hey, Roxas, wasn't it?" The redhead plopped down next to him. "Here, take this."<br>The redhead held out a small, black rectangle, with writing that looked to be cut out and held in front of a flame. "AXEL SINCLAIR." it read. It had his name, phone number and home address. "Call me if you need anything."  
>"I-uh, but, didn't we get your contact information?" Roxas asked dumbly.<br>"Yeah, for work. This is if you need something else." The redhead grinned. "See ya."  
>Roxas couldn't move, let alone take the card, so instead Axel slipped it down his shirt. This earned a very dark blush, and the older chuckled as he got up and left.<p>"Hey, Roxas. What's that?"<br>The somewhat shorter of the two blonds looked blankly at his brother. "What's what?"  
>He had just stood up, and a small rectangle had went fluttering out the bottom of his shirt. "What's this?" His brother picked it up. "Axel Sinclair... Dude, he likes you! You should totally call him!"<br>"Are you kidding me? He's mourning his daughter! What's a worse time to hit on someone?" Roxas blushed scarlet.  
>"No, he's looking for comfort, a distraction! If you can give him that you'll make his life that much better! Plus, he'll probably get too fond of you to let go!"<br>"Way to make a guy feel loved, Ventus." Roxas grumbled, taking the others words a different way than planned.  
>"Oh come on, Rox! You have to get out there to get noticed!"<br>"Shut up." Roxas walked past Ven and into the hall. He grabbed his coat and stalked off to his car out back. "I'm going home, you coming or you got something going on?"  
>"I've got a party tonight. And tomorrow night too." Ven threw a peace sign at his retreating brother. "Night!"<br>"Night."

It took Roxas almost a week to look at it again, that tiny slip of cardstock. He kept it under his pillow, sure. He slipped a finger over it every night, yes. But take it out? Nope.  
>Not until six days had passed.<br>He pulled it out and sighed, taking a good long look at the letters on the page. The flames dancing behind them actually looked like they were moving if he stared long enough.  
>He picked up the cellphone next to his and dialed the number, biting his lip.<br>"Sinclair." Was the only response.  
>"Uh, hello? This is Roxas McCarthy-" his sentence was cut off by a slight scuffle over the connection, and a bit of a yell from somewhere nearby, and then a very happy voice.<br>"Oh yeah! Hey, Roxas. Took ya long enough. What's up?"  
>"Uhh," Roxas hadn't really planned that far ahead, actually.<br>"Uhh...?" Axel prompted over the phone.  
>"Uhh, I was wondering what exactly you gave me the card for?"<br>There was a short period of silence on the other end. "Seriously? I thought you called for a date, was I wrong?"  
>"Nono, I mean, uh... D-date?"<br>"Yeah, a date. You free tonight?"  
>Yeah, tonight and every night after that. "Maybe, lemme check..." bullshit.<br>He wanted to go, so freaking badly. All he had to do was say yes.  
>"Yeah, I am."<br>"Awesome! I'll pick you up in half an hour."  
>"Uhh, you have my address?"<br>"Yeah, it's on your brother's no- Ah! I mean, card."  
>Oh so that was VEN's fault... Roxas would probably have to pummel his brother later.<br>Sure, he was the smaller one, but he could take care of himself.  
>"Okay, come on over then." Roxas beamed slightly, proud of himself for actually calling a hot guy. Even prouder for getting a date on the first try.<br>"Be there in thirty minutes. See ya in a bit, Roxas."  
>"See you." The phone went dead a few seconds later.<br>"... YES!" Roxas punched the air in victory. Sure, it was childish, but who cares? He got himself a date with the hottest man he'd ever met.  
>He bounced out of bed and walked out the door of his bedroom, to bump straight into his twin brother. "Hey Roxas! I was just gonna ask if you wanted to come with me to this awesome party?" Ven looked his brother over a second. "I'm gonna take that as a no. You going somewhere Rox?"<br>Roxas blushed. "As a matter of fact, yes. Yes I am."  
>Ven looked at him proudly. "KNEW you could do it, Rox." The taller clapped his brother on the shoulder.<br>"By the way, you gave him my address." Roxas noted.  
>The tallers' face fell, slightly. "Uhh, what are you talking about?"<br>"You may be an actor, but you still suck at lying to me." Roxas looked at his brother with crossed arms. "You gave him my address and my home phone number, didn't you?"  
>"Yeah, alright okay I did. But you can't blame me! You need a boyfriend. By the way, I get to give you a make-over, right?"<br>"No."

Ven got his way anyway.  
>All he really did was force Roxas to take a shower while he picked out clothes, but this still frustrated his twin. Eventually, they figured out a peaceful situation, but it all turned to chaos as the doorbell rang throughout Roxas' apartment.<br>"Oh fuck," Ventus muttered as he turned to face the door. The two brothers were busy cleaning up Rox's hair, but Ven suddenly noticed the underwear and discarded clothes scattered around the front room from his tirade through Roxas' closet.  
>Ven shot into the other room and gathered up as much as he could, as Roxas called out for an extra minute.<br>Roxas poked his hair a little, and then walked into the front room. He nearly screamed at his brother for throwing his clothes all over the place, but held in the tantrum as he headed for the door. His brother streaked back in and grabbed a few more shirts before disappearing into the bedroom.  
>The door opened. "Hey," Roxas smiled up at the redhead. Suddenly, everything wrong just seemed to melt away into nothingness. He couldn't fathom why he never called before today.<br>"Hey, how you doing?" Was his response.  
>Roxas savored every word. "I'm doing fantastic, you?"<br>"Fantabulous." The elder smirked.  
>Roxas laughed a little. "Let's go."<br>The two walked out the front door, looking at each other aw they went.  
>As soon as the front door was shut and locked, Ventus came out of his hiding spot behind Roxas' bedroom door. He sighed in relief, grinning to himself. Until he spotted a single spot of blue on the couch.<br>He'd accidentally left a pair of blue silk boxers in plain sight. He kicked himself.

A simple dinner and a movie night, friendly and fun, lots of talk. The two enjoyed each others company greatly, and decided to see each other again soon.  
>As the two were driving away from the theater, Axel looked over at the blond he was talking to and smiled. "This was fun."<br>"Yeah, it was."  
>"Thanks for distracting me. I think I feel much better. No, scratch that I do." He grinned at the other.<br>"You're welcome, I'm glad." Roxas grinned to himself. "I don't believe I was so scared to call you."  
>"Scared? Axel looked over at him. "Scared of what?"<br>"I don't know. Rejection, I think. I've never met many nice hot guys who ever returned any feelings or thoughts." Roxas sighed. "I think I'm just glad tonight turned out so great-" He paused, as he noticed Axel had grabbed his hand, and was staring at him in thought. "Huh?"  
>"I'm glad you liked tonight, but I'm a little worried about the next time. Gonna be hard to top a first date like this." He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to the blond's.<p>

Roxas stumbled into his dark apartment, half-drunk from the scent and feel of the redheads warmth. He didn't exactly know what had happened, only that he was resolved to call Axel the next morning and ask for another date soon.

He woke up tot he sound of the phone the next day instead.  
>"Hey there blondie, care for another round?" <p>


	2. Six hearts below

Again, dinner and a movie, nothing too big. Nothing really flashy. Just two guys out for some together time.  
>This time, Roxas wasn't terrified in the least. Not. At. All.<br>Bullshit.  
>He still feared, somewhere in the back of his mind, that this whole things wasn't real. That somehow, Axel was just pulling his leg, and either wouldn't pull up to get him, or would drop him off somewhere, or that something would go wrong, or any number of endless possibilities that Roxas couldn't help but imagine-<br>*HONK HONK!*  
>Roxas flew to the window, pressing his nose to the large glass wall to look down three floors to the low, black sports car, with a custom paint job of simple flames over the hood.<br>"He's here." Those two words choked him up inside and brought him near to tears with joy. Only downside, he was three floors down, and he wasn't wearing as shirt yet.

Seven minutes later, Roxas had a shirt on, and was sprinting out the front door of his apartment building, grinning widely.  
>He was met with a grin just as wide, if not more so, yet also quite cocky and smug. Also, a large pair of warm, wonderful arms that wrapped themselves around him when he hit the large, flat chest of the taller male.<br>"Hey there Blondie, didn't think you'd make it down here so quick. I half hoped you'd forget your shirt so I'd have an excuse to follow you up there."  
>"Twit." The blond hit the redhead in the shoulder, hard, but he still snuggled into the other shoulder and inhaled deeply. Warm. He smelled of warm cinnamon and coffee. And a tiny hint of clove. "Mmmm, hey."<br>"Hey." A large, skinny hand ran through his hair, and he sighed heavily. "You okay, Roxas?"  
>"Hmm?" Said blond looked up."Oh, yeah. I just, I didn't think you'd call me back. I thought you'd forget me."<br>"Seriously?" The redhead chortled. "How could I forget your eyes? Or that wonderful kiss last night. It's only the second day and you haven't given me a turn-off yet. In fact, all you're throwing is turn-ONs."  
>Roxas smiled happily again. "I'm glad you're not gone, but I can't really imagine why."<br>"Didn't I just say your eyes?" The redhead placed a finger on the blond's chin and brought his face up to look him straight in the eyes. "So blue... my own, personal ocean. And that kiss..." He brought the others' lips to his own again, in a sweet and gentle caress. "Is when I get lost at sea."  
>Roxas giggled gently, and the two spent a few seconds just staring at each other.<br>"Well, shall we go?" Axel grinned when the younger blinked in confusion. He just picked the other up, earning an indignant squeak, and somehow opened the door, playfully shoving the other inside.  
>"What?" Axel grinned as he slipped into the driver's seat. "You didn't expect me to NOT find a way to surprise you?"<br>Rox grumbled slightly, but he still grinned at the redhead's antics. They had barely met each other a week and a half ago, but they knew enough, somehow.

The movie wasn't as good as they'd hoped, so the two had instead watched each other for a lot of it. They had their privacy in their little corner, despite Rox's insistence at first that they take the front row. He ended up without regrets other than buying the tickets. The show he'd seen was free. And much, much better.  
>Dinner was nice, though. The two of them talked about their pasts, their presents, hopes for the future. Axel somehow got Roxas to pull out his long-buried secrets and dreams, and they seemed to please him.<br>One question in particular, though, sparked Roxas' interest.  
>"So, why do you work in a funeral home, Roxas?"<br>The blond looked up and blinked in confusion. "Huh?"  
>"Why do you work where you do?"<br>"Oh..." Roxas had to think back a little. "I never wanted to, it was a family business. My father ran it before he... died, a few years ago... and my mother never really rose to the challenge of it herself. Sure, she works, but she likes to keep her own house her workshop.  
>"I guess Ventus and I are running it because... we haven't really found our own ways yet. And I dunno, I just felt an obligation to take over for my dad. I guess... it was because he raised us to believe we would. So I did."<br>"Hmm..." Axel narrowed his eyes in thought. "I guess I can relate... in a way..."  
>"Oh? How?"<br>"Well, I followed my mom's footsteps, even though I never really thought I want to. I always wanted to be a fireman, or maybe the army. I always wanted to learn how to McGuiver a bomb. Never really thought I'd be doing this."  
>"Speaking of which, I don't think you ever told me what you do?" Roxas was thoroughly interested now.<br>"Really?" Axel spent a moment in thought. "No, I don't believe I ever did." He bit his lip. "Can't imagine why...?"  
>"Tell me!" Rox's wide, blue eyes begged for the answer to the question. He leaned forward to hear the answer. What could have pulled this man from his dreams?<br>"I'm uh, I'm a police investigator. Like a detective, only I don't have my own contract. I'm the brains before the brawn, you could call it." He snickered. "No brawn now, though."  
>"What do you mean?" A detective? Police? Public service, justice duty... What a great job idea! File that away for later.<br>"Oh nothing. I was hired to infiltrate this business on the grounds of a card found near... Kairi's body..." He swallowed thickly. "It didn't pan out, they're nice people. They weren't responsible."  
>"Who's card? What company?" A nagging suspicion was tugging it's way from the back of Rox's mind, clawing it's way into his attention.<br>"Oh, it's nothing major. It's a dead end anyway." Axel shrugged it off, only seeming a little uncomfortable.  
>"What. Company?" Roxas made his voice as firm as possible, trying to steady the panic and suspicion in his throat. The nagging had become a vicious demon, raking the inside of his skull and screaming to be heard.<br>"..." No answer.  
>"Axel."<br>"..." The redhead took a deep breath. "Don't freak out on me, Roxas. Please?"  
>"Was it us?"<br>"... Yes. It was your family's business. But you're off the hook, you're innocent. Right?"  
>No. "I can't believe it. This whole this was a farce?" Roxas shook his head. The doubt had died, leaving only a huge, bubbling, growing mass of anger and resentment.<br>"No! No, I can't believe you'd think that! I'm- honestly! Roxas, no!"  
>"This whole thing was fake, right? Get to know me, get my hopes up, get me excited and happy so I'd let loose with the truth?Is that it? Were you just investigating me?" He stood up, letting his fists contract, causing him slight pain in his palms from his nails. But it was nothing compared to what the blond felt inside. Nothing could ever hurt this much.<br>"No! Roxas, please calm down! I was only telling you the truth when you'd been cleared! I never meant to hurt you! I took you out because I do care!"  
>The two were starting to draw attention from the others around them. The place wasn't exactly full, but there were a good seven or eight people in the room other than them.<br>"Please, calm down! Roxas sit. I was only doing my job, but that ended when I first walked out of your office building. From there it was only me."  
>"So handing me your phone number was also your JOB? Telling us about your ex-wife? Your DAUGHTER? I bet you're not even divorced! Or, better yet, your daughter is still alive, and you were only using her name for all this!"<br>"No! Kairi is really dead. And I was the one who found her in that GODforsaken moldy motel room, with a TWO MONTH OLD BABY in her torso! I was the one who got the tip they were there, I went to investigate. But I never thought I'd find my missing daughter there.  
>"And yes, I was married, and I AM divorced, and I STILL think she was an evil bitch. I never lied about anything. I just wasn't allowed to tell everything."<br>"No, I'm not listening to your lies anymore." Roxas threw his hands to his ears and left, stalking through the restaurant and biting his lip. He didn't let any tears escape until he was safely a half a block away from the place.  
>"Roxas!" He didn't want to hear that voice, not now not ever again. He wished he never had. "Roxas!"<br>"No." He said it quietly, and only to himself, but he sped up, taking off down the street to get away from the taller man.  
>"Please, Roxas! Come back! Roxas!"<br>Running almost blindly, Roxas pulled out his cell phone and hit the 'two' button and 'send.' He heard it snap, and then connect, ringing once. Twice, three times before his brother picked up. "Hey bro, wassup?" Came his reply.  
>"Come get me?" The smaller of the two blonds sobbed into the receiver, still running, but not really paying attention to where. Just away.<br>"Whoa, Roxas hold on a second. Hey Terra, can you turn it down a second? Oh come on, it's Roxas! Fine I'll go outside! Hold on just a sec, Rox. I have to get out of here real quick."  
>The smaller blond obeyed, waiting a second. He also took this opportunity to take a look around and breathe.<br>Taking stock of his surroundings, he found himself to be almost thirteen blocks from the restaurant, and Axel was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he went back to the restaurant to wait for him?  
>"Well, I hope he holds his breathe." Roxas muttered.<br>"Sorry?" Ven was back. "I'm outside, and I haven't had any drink, so I can come get you. Where are you?"  
>"Uhh, 56th and Everview." Roxas blinked up at the road signs. "Northeast corner."<br>"Okay, I'll becoming from the West, so if you can cross the street and wait for me I can pick you up as I drive by. No hassle, you're on my way home anyway. I'll be there in about ten minutes, can you wait that long?"  
>Roxas nodded, more to himself. "Yeah, I can. but can you please hurry? I don't wanna be here long."<br>"Sure thing, Be there as soon as I can." Ven sounded genuinely worried. "Love you, bro."  
>"Love you." Roxas swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Purposefully, he reached out his hand and pressed the button to walk across the street. The intersection was a bit of a busy one, and it took about six minutes to change. But Roxas didn't really think about walking around. Just forward.<br>When the light finally turned to the walking green figure, he started forward across the pavement, only to be stopped in his tracks, halfway across the lane, by a very loud screech.

*WHAM*

The little blond went flying.  
>Cars stopped all around the intersection, people got out and rushed to help. One woman called 911, asking for people to move away, and give the ambulances some room to access the situation. At least someone was keeping a level head.<br>Roxas was out like a light as soon as he was hit, no pain even registered, nothing. No sound, No light, just dark, empty nothing.  
>But the one image Roxas did get, only a few minutes after the ambulance arrived for him and the driver, was plain, white-gray, and a blur of bright red fire. <p>


	3. Six hearts down

Opening his eyes, at first, there was nothing. Only bright, white light.  
>Ow.<br>It took Roxas about five minutes to get used to the light, but eventually he could deal with it.  
>Opening his eyes fully he scanned his surroundings.<br>White walls, white ceiling, bright lights. Great, a hospital. He continued to look around.  
>White cupboards, white counter, silver sink... white plastic bags, white pillow, white plastic bed, white window, no view, white lines, white linens, red hair, white door, white-<br>Red spikes?  
>The blonds eyes quickly focused on the bright red distraction from the monochrome room. His hair looked a little mussed, and more than a little unkempt, and the tall fire engine spikes that Roxas loved were missing. Looked like the redhead hadn't bothered with gel in days.<br>A small smiled crawled its way across Roxas's face as he watched the redhead twitch slightly in his sleep.  
>That's the man I love...<p>Wait...<p>

The man I love-D. loved. I did love him, but now I don't. I hate him. He's a lying, cheating sonovabitch. And I don't want him here.  
>The blond squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head to face the other way.<p>

He almost fell asleep, when he heard a slight moan from the other side of the room.  
>Automatically, the blond's ears pricked up, listening for the slightest sound or movement.<br>"No, please... come back..." Very quietly, yet still loud as a gong against the silence of the room, the redhead was whispering in his sleep. "Come back..."  
>Biting his lip, Roxas turned his head back to look at the redhead.<br>Axel was sitting, slightly sprawled across the chair, and just looking at him made Roxas uncomfortable, but he was too curious to really notice wight now.  
>"Please..." The word was drawn out for about three seconds, an almost endless plea.<br>"Please what?" Roxas whispered, almost so quietly he couldn't hear it himself.  
>"Roxas..." The sound was so pained, so scared, terrified, agonized and lost, just the sound of his name sent shivers up Roxas' spine. "Please don't leave... me."<br>The sound of that one, tiny little call, hung in the air for a full twenty minutes, while Roxas only sat and stared. His mouth hung open as he watched the other writhe in his sleep, calling out gently and even reaching his hand out across the room.  
>Roxas considered for a second, before reaching his hand out as well. Hesitating when his hand left the rough fabric, he bit his lip slightly and put all his energy into reaching the redhead. Their fingertips almost touched, when Roxas heard footsteps, and then the doorknob began to turn.<br>Hastily, Roxas pulled his hand back to his side and blinked, preparing for the worst.  
>In walked a man, slightly taller than Roxas, but looked almost identical. "Rox? You awake?"<br>The redhead snorted slightly in his sleep, his hand falling away out of sight behind the door as Roxas blinked in disbelief. "Ven?"  
>"Oh my god you're awake. HE'S AWAKE!" he cried through the door. Instantly, he flew across the room and buried his face in Roxas's chest. "Oh gosh you scared me so much! I'm so sorry I didn't get there any sooner! It was such a good thing Axel was there, you would have been dead much sooner if he hadn't tied up your head! Oh wow, you are so lucky to have someone that handy!" Ven sighed, looking at his twin.<br>Roxas smiled, patting the other on the head. "I'm fine, but what exactly happened?"  
>At this point, in came about five others, one of them was a tall male, with spiky brown hair and bright blue eyes. Next to him was a female with blue hair, and a young woman about twenty-five with a big grin and long pink and purple hair and large purple eyes.<br>And two doctors.  
>"Afternoon, sleepyhead!" The tallest male grinned, messing up Roxas's hair and grinning like he was planning on splitting his face in two. "How you doing?"<br>The two doctors that had shuffled into the room with Rox's friends went about checking the machinery and poking at Rox's tubes.  
>"I'm doing okay, I guess. How'd I get here?"<br>"Got hit, and caused a huge traffic jam, and then your man over there was able to slow your bleeding before the ambulances got there. Ven got there just before they loaded you up, and then followed you to the hospital in his car." The pink-haired young woman grinned, showing off her bright white teeth. Her green and yellow dress, over her slightly tanned skin bothered Roxas to no end, and right now the contrast almost hurt, but he was glad to be seeing anything at all. She walked to Ven's side and took his arm, rubbing at his shoulder and smiling down at Roxas. "You got a lucky break."  
>Ven smiled and put his hand over hers, grinning at Roxas brightly. "You might have enjoyed Axel's look of panic the whole time you were in emergency surgery. He was pacing and complaining the whole time. He never wanted to let go of your hand."<br>"Yeah, that man hasn't left this room aside from peeing and a shower every other day or so. Ven even had to force feed him a sandwich daily." Aqua laughed, gently. "Such a sweet man, though. Where'd you find him?"  
>"He was a customer, actually." Roxas blushed slightly, glancing at the redhead across the room. "He came in about his daughter, and then gave me his home number. Took me about a week to call him..."<br>"Well be glad you did, he really saved your life out there." Terra sat down on a spare plastic chair near Ven's head and grinned again.  
>Roxas's mood darkened drastically at this, and he turned his head away. Memories from that last date came flooding through his mind, and most of them he didn't want to see.<br>Arguing, getting up, running, crying, calling Ven and asking for a ride home. Looking around and feeling watched, not finding anyone around. Crossing the street, bright headlights, not even a honk. Car tires, screaming in protest as they were told to stop their momentum just a little too late, blinding light... and then nothing. He didn't remember any pain, he didn't remember getting hit. But he did remember the red spikes against a white background...  
>"Oh, did something happen?" The woman with blue hair leaned forward, gently reaching out a hand to touch Rox's cheek. "You okay sweetie?"<br>"I'm fine." Roxas bit his lip and looked up at her. "Just a little disappointed, is all." He quickly fixed his expression, warming his face and smiling. "I'm okay, Aqua."  
>"Alright, hun. Just know we're only here to support you." She gave him a sympathetic look and moved back.<br>"I called mom," Ventus chimed in, breaking the short silence in the room. "She's on her way back to see you. She should be here in a day or two."  
>Roxas sighed and smiled. The rest of the little gathering was a bit of a blur for Roxas. He was torn between enjoying the company, and wishing they were gone. He also wanted very much to talk to the redhead in the corner, who somehow had managed to stay asleep through the whole ordeal. It took a lot of willpower to keep from glancing every five seconds at Axel's face.<p>

When the others finally left, Roxas sighed a big heavy sigh and closed his eyes.  
>"You can rest a while now, sweetie." Roxas doctor told him. She was a nice woman about thirty. "Your redhead can stay a while, but when he wakes up you should tell him he should be gone soon. It's not healthy to stay this long in a hospital."<br>"Speaking of which, how long HAVE we been here?" Roxas asked.  
>"Almost a week and a half. Your recovery has baffled many of us. You took quite a fall, but you haven't woken up once so far since you've been here. Now out of the blue you open your eyes, and you're ready for a full entourage of people. I'm certainly impressed."<br>"How is my recovery coming so far?"  
>"Again, baffling. Slow but steady, your body seems to be fixing itself much slower than other peoples, but much, much better. It's interesting to watch, but your body seems quite capable of fixing you up even better than you were with only a slightly longer amount of time."<br>"My mom calls it our family secret. We may be small, but we can take care of ourselves just fine." He laughed. "Ven did almost the same thing when he got a pretty bad head bang a few years ago. He fell off a rock climbing wall, took a real tumble too. He was outside, and hit a concrete wall across from the rocks, and hit a truck in a very bad way. But in about three days he was back to normal, absolutely no side effects. Should have put a normal person in the hospital for almost a month, we were told."  
>"That's impressive too." His doctor laughed. "Well, good night, I guess. You can go to sleep now, if you want. Unless you're hungry?"<br>"Nah, I'm okay." Roxas lied. He knew she couldn't feed him anything real, and he wasn't in the mood for jello and peas. He has never really liked peas.  
>She left, closing the door behind her, and the room was right back to how he'd woken up. Nothing but white, and a snoring redhead.<br>But Axel wasn't snoring anymore.  
>"Hey," The taller male spoke up.<br>"Hello." Roxas looked away, not quite sure how to talk to him.  
>"How you doing?"<br>"I'm okay."  
>"I uh, I'm sorry I upset you, I didn't mean to. I wasn't lying either, I just didn't say everything. Could you-"<br>"Forgive you?" Roxas finished, turning his head to face the other. "I think I already did."  
>"W-what? Why? Already? I thought it would take a long time."<br>"You're honest in your sleep. I decided I can forgive, you were so convincing." The slight joke was not lost on Axel, but he chose to ignore it as he stood up and took the blonds hand in his own, kissing the smaller man's fingers gently and individually.  
>"I am so sorry I upset you. I really, truly am. When you got up, I almost hoped you were joking. When you left I didn't want to believe you would. I did follow you, and I'm sorry I hid, I was just afraid that something bad would happen to you."<br>"Well something bad did happen to me."  
>"And that was what taught me to trust my gut, and my gut tells me to never leave your side. And I won't. Not even if you tell me to, I will keep you safe." The look in the redheads eyes was strong, resolved and honest. He would never let anything bad happen to Roxas. And Roxas knew that.<br>And honestly, it just made him that much more sexy.  
>"What do you want?" Roxas asked quietly.<br>"I want you to forgive me."  
>"I already have."<br>"Thank you..." Axel buried his face in Roxas' chest and sobbed slightly. "Thank you..."  
>Roxas let him sob a while, waiting patiently until he was done.<br>When Axel finally calmed down and stopped sobbing, he stayed there a little longer. "I don't want to fight with you ever again. Not like that." Axel vowed. "Let's not, okay?"  
>"Sounds good to me." The blond reached down his right hand and placed it on the others cheek. Looking up, a single, bright tear slid down Axel's cheek. Roxas rubbed it away with his thumb, and looked into the bright green eyes in front of him.<br>"What do you want?" Axel sighed, watching the other's face.  
>"I want out of here. When I'm free can you take me home?"<br>"Sure I can, but we're not that far from your place already."  
>"No..." the blond's cheeks burned slightly. "I meant with you. Take me home with you."<br>"Oh..." Axel blinked in surprise, but nodded his understanding. "I'll do that."  
>"Kiss me."<br>Axel looked slightly startled. "Really? That easy?"  
>"Never that easy. But I already told you you're forgiven. Now kiss me."<br>Obediently, Axel leaned forward and gently let his lips brush the others. When Roxas pushed back, he gained a little confidence. Roxas let his eyes slip closed first, sighing into the sensation, giving Axel a clear sign that all was well, right now.

All was forgiven, all was forgotten, all was well.

And well was nice. 


End file.
